Spinal (Intrathecal) Ketamine Anaesthesia for Upper Abdominal Surgery – Case Report.

Intravenous ketamine is usually administered for the induction of general anaesthesia. Spinal ketamine for lower abdominal and lower limb surgery is sporadically reported in the literature. However, the use of spinal ketamine for upper body surgery is rare. We describe the case of a 35-year old man, with a retroperitoneal tumour and severe intercurrent cardiovascular morbidity, that had exploratory laparotomy and tumour biopsy with Intrathecal ketamine administered through the L4/L5 interspace. The patient had good surgical analgesia, with stable vital signs throughout the surgery. After surgery, the spinal catheter was left in place, and withdrawn 48 hours later. The patient did well in the immediate postoperative period, although he gradually succumbed to the primary illness (malignant retroperitoneal cancer) on the 15th postoperative day. Keywords : Spinal, intrathecal, ketamine, anaesthesia. Nigerian Journal of Surgical Sciences Vol. 17 (2) 2007: pp. 129-132